


Lady Loves

by Blue_fantasy



Series: Lost Dreams Series [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Lando's Luck - Justina Ireland
Genre: 20 years after the events of Lando's Luck, Angst, Between Episodes, Canon Compliant, Childbirth, F/M, Falling In Love, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fatherhood, Fluff and Angst, Kidnapping, L3-37 Mentioned, Lando is 46, Minor Leia Organa/Han Solo, Missing Scene, Post-Coital Cuddling, Rinetta is 36
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:08:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24885865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_fantasy/pseuds/Blue_fantasy
Summary: It had been six years since he had seen the two people he loved more than anything else in the galaxy. Their absence was like a hole in his heart that grew larger with each passing day. He had spent most of that time hopping from system to system and planet to planet in search of his daughter. She would be eight standard years by now. He had made a promise to his wife that he wouldn’t return without her.
Relationships: Lando Calrissian & Han Solo, Lando Calrissian & L3-37, Lando Calrissian & Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian & his daughter, Lando Calrissian/Rinetta Gan, Leia Organa/Han Solo
Series: Lost Dreams Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1800763
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Lady Loves

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thanks to the wonderful beta for the re-write of this story, MichellesPenScratchz  
> She is amazing and you can check out her fics on AO3.
> 
> SPOILER WARNING: If you have not read Lando's Luck (a canon novel for middle-grade kids - ages 8-12), there are major spoilers in this story.
> 
> Lando's age: On Wookiepedia, the timeline says Lando was born about 43 BBY. That makes him 11 years older than Han Solo and about 58 years old at the birth of his daughter. While 58-year-old men are capable of becoming new fathers, I also feel like Wookiepedia's estimate is off. So in this fic, Lando is born in 34 BBY. I am placing Rinetta Gan's birth year at 24 BBY. She was 13 when they met in Lando's Luck which would place that story in 11 BBY, one year before he lost the Falcon to Han. He and Rinetta were strictly platonic friends in that story, but the epilogue is set after the Battle of Crait and really got the wheels turning in my head that Rinetta may play a more significant role in the Star Wars universe. With all that said, when Lando and Rinetta cross paths in 11 ABY, he is 46 and she is 36.
> 
> The title is part of my Lando headcanon. His ship is the Lady Luck. But his wife is his lady and his daughter is his little lady, his two lady loves in the galaxy.

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_ “Do you think we’ll see Captain Calrissian and the Millennium Falcon again?” _

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_ “We certainly hope not. That is a man who cannot help but attract trouble, no matter what he does.”  _

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-Princess Rinetta Gan and Queen Forsythia Jin of Hynestia, from the novel  _ Flight of the Falcon: Lando’s Luck _ by Justina Ireland 

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**21 ABY**

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It had been six years since he had seen the two people he loved more than anything else in the galaxy. Their absence was like a hole in his heart that grew larger with each passing day. He had spent most of that time hopping from system to system and planet to planet in search of his daughter. She would be eight standard years by now. He had made a promise to his wife that he wouldn’t return without her.

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A stupid promise. She always told him he should be careful of the promises he makes. And in the sorrow of their lost daughter, all he wanted to do was run to the arms of his wife for comfort. She was his strength and he needed her more than ever. But, he had made a stupid promise and he was too ashamed and too stubborn not to keep it.

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This promise was the main reason why he agreed to join Luke on his hunt for an artifact that would provide clues to finding the Sith Cult that they suspected was supporting the imperial remnant activity in the outer reaches of the galaxy and elsewhere. The same group he suspected had kidnapped his daughter at the age of two and targeted other members of the Rebel Alliance leadership. Lando knew he could not turn down this opportunity.

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Just saying yes to Luke made him feel like he was that much closer to seeing Rinetta again, that much closer to finding their daughter. He had been using his contacts in the underworld to try and find Elle and the other children kidnapped from Rebel leaders. His search uncovered a group called Project Resurrection and information that lead him to believe they were using Sith Cultists to hunt down children, especially the children of Force-sensitive leaders. He knew when he heard that, he was going to have to call in Luke for help. 

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He could hear the urgency in Luke’s voice when he asked Lando to join him. He knew Luke had that new academy of his filled with Force-sensitive kids, many who had family connections to the rebel alliance and the New Republic and Luke would do anything to protect them, especially Ben.

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Han had told him bits and pieces of their struggle raising Ben and dealing with his powers in the Force. He and Leia were worried and Luke was struggling to help his nephew. He could see the pain and agony in their eyes when they spoke with him about it because they all loved him so much, heck, Lando loved the kid. He remembered holo conversations with Han when Ben was a tot where he would call him Unca Wanwo. It stuck for a while but then Elle was taken and his whole life went to pot and Ben went off to Jedi training with Luke. He wondered if Luke would be bringing Ben along on this mission.

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As he prepared his gear for the mission, he couldn’t help but think about his life with Rinetta and how happy they had been. He had to hope that when he returned to her, they could fix things, make things work.

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He would never forget the day Rinetta walked back into his life. That day and the day Elle was born were two days that glow the brightest in his memories.

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**11 ABY** ****

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He and Han had just finished overseeing a mission and landed on Nakadia where Leia and Ben were staying while the Senate was in session with Han away. They had landed the Falcon at the spaceport and Han had headed off the ship first to greet Leia and Ben while he stayed behind to check on the ship and pack things up. As he made his way through the corridor, he heard a somewhat familiar voice talking to Han but couldn’t place it.

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“This is the Millenium Falcon, though,” the woman spoke with an accent Lando knew but just couldn’t remember.

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“Lady, it sure is. But Lando hasn’t owned this thing in a long time,” Han answered. Lando was thinking this must be some girl he crossed paths with in his younger days and was hesitant to make his presence known.

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“Oh,” he heard the disappointment in her voice. “Is Elthree still co-piloting the ship or is she with Lando or-”

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“Sweetheart, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Elthree perished decades ago,” his friend responded sadly.

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“Oh my goodness, I didn’t know,” the woman’s voice cracked as she spoke as if she was about to cry. What woman did he know that would cry over the loss of Elthree? “Do you know how I could find Captain Calrissian?”

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“Captain Calrissian?” Han asked, surprised at how the woman had addressed his friend. 

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It was at that moment he knew who she was. He peaked out the ship a bit and his breath hitched. She was no longer that spunky annoying girl of thirteen, that was for sure. He stood back up, gathering himself to approach the breathtaking beauty he had just glimpsed. He sucked in his breath, checked his hair, straightened his cape, and thanked the maker he was wearing one of his newer ensembles.

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He stepped down the ramp as Han said, “Who’s asking?”

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“Princess Rinetta Gan of Hynestia,” Lando answered as he looked directly at her, taking all his strength to maintain composure and a look of easy cool confidence, though inside he was a melting hot mess of excitement and fear. He watched as a smile spread across her face. With a swagger in his step, he walked up to her and took her hand. “What a pleasure it is to lay my eyes on you after all this time.” He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles.

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“I see you have not changed much since we last saw one another,” she said bitingly. Lando winced slightly.

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“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing,” he replied, his smirk returning to his face. It had been more than twenty years since he had last seen her. He knew how much he had changed from the man she met all those years ago.

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“What happened to Elthree?” she asked as a hint of sadness washed over her face. He, too, felt sorrow in his heart at the thought of his old co-pilot. And he also remembered how much L3-37 liked this princess.

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“Elthree, she--,” Lando paused to collect himself. “She died about a year after we met. She liberated a bunch of droids before that, though.”

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“Of course she did,” Rinetta smiled and laughed at that. He could see tears glistening in her eyes.

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“She is part of the Falcon, though,” Lando added. “I uploaded and integrated her data into the ship after she deactivated.”

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“How fitting,” Rinetta looked up at the ship as if she were looking at Elthree, herself.

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“What are you doing on Nakadia?” he asked.

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“I came to observe the New Republic Senate,” she said. He could tell there was more she wanted to tell him but not in such a public place.

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“I’m hungry, mom,” little Ben whined from atop his father’s shoulders, breaking through the haze of the reunion.

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“Dinner is being prepared at our apartment as we speak, if you would like to join us, your highness,” Leia offered to Rinetta.

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“Oh, I couldn’t,” the elegant woman before him responded. “And I am no longer a princess. My homeworld no longer exists.”

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“Seems we have that in common,” Leia said with a sorrowful tone. “It would be an honor to have a friend of Lando’s join us.”

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**12 ABY**

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Lando was happy, truly happy for maybe the first time in his miserable scoundrel life. And he didn’t want to be a scoundrel anymore. He didn’t want to be a stooge for the New Republic either. He just wanted to spend every waking hour with Rinetta, more specifically lying naked with Rinetta, running his fingers along every curve of her amazing body.

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During his time with Kaasha, there had been moments of happiness, but there had also been volatility, jealousy, and distrust on both sides. He never felt the complete and total trust and confidence in their relationship like he did with Rinetta. That was how he knew what he had with the Hynestian princess was real. Lando Calrissian was in love.

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She rolled over to face him, their eyes locked. She had a serious expression on her face, one she got when she was plotting something and trying to gauge his reaction before explaining anything to him. Over the last year he had studied her, learned her like a lesson in school, but one he couldn’t stop studying. Couldn’t stop seeking more knowledge about the goddess before him. He loved her for all her perfections but found he loved her even more for all her flaws, the things that made her who she was, made her human, made her unique, made her Rinetta.

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They had traveled all across the galaxy together on the  _ Lady Luck _ as he attended to business for the New Republic. They'd seen worlds together for the first time, but even more special to them were the old haunts. On a return trip to Neral's Moon he'd taught her to play Sabaac. They'd bet on pod racing, and taken rides through the canals to watch the bioluminescent Klinnet. He had suggested visiting their old friends on Livno III, but each time Rinetta would push it off, telling him they could visit later.

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“Mmmm...good morning, love,” she spoke with heavy-lidded eyes.

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“Good morning, princess,” he answered. He was the only person she allowed to call her that anymore. Maybe it was because he knew who she had be en before her people lost their planet to the Empire. While Alderaan had been obliterated, Hynestia had been hijacked and stripped clean of all its resources, the Hynestian people fleeing, never to be heard from again. That is until Rinetta walked up to the Falcon on Nakadia a year ago. He had heard that the Empire had hunted down and killed her mother, Queen Forsythia Jin. And Rinetta had told him there were Hynestians hiding in a safe place, which was where she had been for the past two decades. But she wouldn't tell him where and he didn’t press her. He knew it was too important.

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“Where are we headed today, my dear? Your turn to choose,” he told her. She placed her hand on the side of his face and brushed her thumb along his cheekbone.

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“Nakadia.”

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“Okay, but I’m not sure Han and Leia will be there. They spend most of their time at their family home on Chandrila.”

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“Not to visit,” she responded. “To get my ship.” She had placed her ship in a long term storage hangar when they first left Nakadia together a year ago. Panic began to set into his chest. Was she leaving him? Had he missed something? Had he done something to offend her, hurt her? His mind raced through their interactions over the past days, weeks, and months, trying to find some clue as to why she would want to leave.

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“But why--,” he started.

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“I was thinking while I watched you sleep last night,” she paused as she ran her fingers gently from his temple to his chin, her eyes searching his face for something. His heart fluttered at her words and display of affection. “I need to head back to my people. I have been gone long enough and have decided we just can't risk being a part of the New Republic. It is too dangerous.”

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“Okay, let’s go then.”

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“Lando,” she looked right into his eyes, cupping her hands to the sides of his face, holding him there. “The past year has been the most wonderful time of my life. I never imagined I would feel this way about someone but now I realize--” She paused, looking down for a moment.

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“I think I have been in love with you for much longer than I was willing to admit. I daydreamed about our paths crossing for years. I never forgot what you did for my friend all those years ago. I always just thought this right here, what is between us, was just a daydream. I never thought this would be so real.”

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“Rinetta, this is the most real thing I have ever felt in my life. Where you go, I go.”

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“Are you sure? I want you to come with me but I don’t want you to have to give up your job. Lando, you have responsibilities to the New Republic. You are a leader. People look up to you, rely on you. And it makes me so proud to see the difference you are making, the people you are helping. That is the Lando I remember from all those years ago, choosing to help me save a world and its people even if it meant doom for yourself.” He could see the tears shimmering in her eyes.

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“I can do my work from anywhere in the galaxy. Nothing matters if I’m not with you,” he pleaded desperately.

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“I feel the same except that I cannot expose my people like that. You are known throughout the galaxy. Frequent visits to an unknown planet would raise suspicions and bring trouble. You would not be able to return to anything in your old life. I love you too much to force you into a life where you would not be happy. Where you would not feel fulfilled,” she explained with a sadness in her voice. He knew she was right. There were still imperial remnants throughout the galaxy and at times he felt he had a target on his back. The New Republic “Heroes of Rebellion” campaign had not helped the situation.

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“Then I quit,” he proclaimed. This was it. He was retiring from public service. He was retiring from everything. And she was completely worth it. A look of shock crossed Rinetta’s face as if she hadn’t anticipated this move.

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“But your friends, your work--,” she questioned.

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“--mean absolutely nothing without you in my life,” he finished, pulling her closer and touching his forehead to hers.

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“You’d do that? Come with me knowing you can’t just skip from casino to casino around the galaxy,” she asked.

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“I can teach the Hynestians a thing or two about Sabaac,” he jested with a crooked grin.

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“I’m sure you could,” she laughed, her smile shooting a beam of light right to his soul.

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“Rinetta,” he cupped her face with both of his hands. “I love you with all my being. I have never felt this way before in my life.”

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“Neither have I,” she returned. “I love you as I’ve never loved anyone. But there is one other thing.”

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“And what is that?” he asked, his tone laced with dread.

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“I want a child. I want to be a mother,” she paused watching his reaction and adding, “is that something you want?”

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He could feel his heart swelling in his chest. And just as she tucked her chin in and pulled her eyes away, he brought her right back to look at him.

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“If you want that, I want that, too,” he beamed at her. “Then it is decided.”

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“It is decided,” she whispered in his ear pulling him closer, pressing her soft smooth skin up against his chest. He hummed at the skin to skin contact.

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“We will head to Nakadia, switch ships, and then…,” he looked at her questioningly with one eyebrow raised.

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“I will tell you once we are on my ship,” she responded, still holding her cards close.

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Days later, they landed together in her ship on a very familiar planet.

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“I should have guessed,” he smiled at her as they walked down the ramp to set foot on Livno III, an old friend waiting at the end. Rinetta slid her hand into his, returning his smile as they walked to where the Lynnas and Hynestians stood near the landing pad.

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“Captain Calrissian, to what do we owe the honor?” Zel Gris purred, her eyes gradually moving down to their joined hands. “To love, I take it.”

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**13 ABY**

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“It is a girl,” the midwife droid said as their baby was handed to his wife, the umbilical cord still attached. “Please pull down the front of your gown for skin-to-skin contact and attempt to allow the baby to latch.” The droid continued her instructions in a cold disjointed manner. But Lando could care less.

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He only had eyes for the two girls he was beaming down at. His girls. He was filled with a sense of pride like none he ever felt. Pride in Rinetta for her strength and bravery throughout her childbirth and pride in the little person they had made together. He gently pushed back some of the sweaty curls stuck to Rinetta’s forehead and leaned down to kiss her there. She looked exhausted but at the same time, she glowed with the happiness and beauty of new motherhood. How did it end up that a woman as amazing as she could love a wretch like him?

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As his wife adjusted the baby to her breast to nurse, he studied his wondrous baby girl, a thick head of black hair slicked to her head covered in the sticky white vernix. Her little eyes were squeezed tightly shut and he watched as her little lips worked to hold on to her mother’s breast. He had spent months leading up to the birth reading every baby resource he could find on his datapad so even though he wanted desperately to hold his baby girl, he knew how important it was that she latches in this window right after birth, how much it would help make nursing easier for Rinetta and the baby. So, he just observed and marveled at the wonder of it all.

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Once the baby was latched, Rinetta caught his eyes and put her hand on his cheek.

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“I love you,” she said softly and it was like she was saying it for the first time all over again.

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“I love you, too,” he responded. “And the love I am feeling for her is--”

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“--like nothing else,” Rinetta finished for him, part statement, part question as if checking to make sure they were feeling the same.

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He nodded and could feel the tears start to spill down his cheeks. His wife smiled at him in a gesture of appreciation for the emotions they were sharing.

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“What are we going to do about a name? I don’t think Landonis Balthazar junior would be fitting for her,” he chuckled. She laughed with him. They had not been able to agree on a name for a girl in all those months. Rinetta looked down at the babe suckling from her breast.

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“Elle,” she said with firm confidence.

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“Elle?”

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“After Elthree,” his wife looked back up at him. “A strong fiercely independent woman who fought for freedom and died to save those she loved. What better person to be named after?”

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“Elle. That’s perfect,” Lando agreed. “Elle Gan Calrissian.” She nodded in agreement.

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**21 ABY**

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The day Elle was born changed his world. He had heard Han and Leia talk about unconditional love and while he was polite to his friends, in his mind he dismissed it as a myth, But now he felt like Han discovering the Force is real. Because he would love that little girl for the rest of his life no matter what happened or who she became.

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As he followed Luke’s X-wing into Pasaana’s atmosphere, he was hoping with all his might that this was the lead he was looking for, the clue that would bring him closer to finding his daughter.

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Landing the Lady Luck near a small village, they began chatting up some locals. There was a calm and peacefulness among the Aki-Aki that reminded him of home, reminded him of the Lynna.

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“Are you sure the ship is abandoned?” he heard Luke ask.

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“There’s an abandoned ship? How long has it been there?” Lando asked his friend.

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“They say it crashed out in the desert not too far from here about a standard month or so ago. Sounds like the description of the ship your contacts gave us,” Luke answered. “The locals went to see if anyone needed assistance but by the time they arrived at the crash site, there was no one to be found.”

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“Well, we are looking for an artifact and it could still be on the ship.”

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“Yes, it could. I asked if they had found anything of interest and the answer was no, but we can try.”

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They borrowed a speeder and headed out to the crash site. They spent hours combing the area looking for debris. The search inside the ship was just as fruitless, except for the remnants of dried blood on the floor that had been hastily cleaned.

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Defeated, they headed back to the village. Luke stood next to his X-wing, preparing to head back to the Jedi temple.

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“You are welcome to come back to the temple. We can debrief there and then figure out our next move,” Luke offered.

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Lando looked out over the village. It was peaceful, serene. He realized at that moment, he had lost hope. It had been six long disappointing years and he was no closer to finding Elle than the day he left Livno III. He and Rinetta had argued that day. She had said things to him that he knew she didn’t mean but in the moment, they had cut him like a knife. She had blamed him for Elle’s kidnapping, that whoever took her was after him, wanted to get revenge on him. And she wasn’t all that wrong. He knew his hope was gone and he could never face Rinetta empty-handed. She was better off without him. He would only bring pain to her, remind her of what she had lost. They could never be the same.

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“I think I’m gonna stay here,” he told his friend.

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“You think you might be able to pick up some more clues from that ship?” Luke shook his head. “We swept that thing pretty good. I don’t think there’s anything else there.”

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“No,” Lando turned and looked him in the eyes. “I’m going to stay here and find peace if that is possible for me.”

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A little while later, as he watched Luke's X-Wing disappear out of the atmosphere, he closed his eyes and imagined a chubby little toddler waddling toward him, arms reaching up, her thick curly hair as free as her little personality. He could swear he heard a small voice on the wind call him Dada.

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**Author's Note:**

> Kudos make me smile. Comments fuel my imagination and keep me writing.
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at sapphire-reverie. Say hi, ask a question, or anything. I love chatting with you all.


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